From 1 p.m. on Monday, October 19, Moraine Park is the only campground open inside Rocky Mountain National Park, and you can no longer book it. Sites go first come, first served for the whole winter. Show up, look for an empty site, and have a fallback outside the park in case Moraine is full.
What the park says changes on October 19
All of this comes from the park’s campgrounds page, last updated September 25, 2026 and checked October 16, 2026.
- The switch. Moraine Park closes for the summer season at noon on October 19 and the winter season opens at 1 p.m. the same day. Everything else is already shut: Aspenglen closed September 28, Timber Creek closed October 5, and Glacier Basin and Longs Peak are closed for the 2026 to 2027 winter.
- What is open. Loop A sites 1 to 62, plus every site in Loops B, C and E. Groups of 8 or more go to a group site in Loop E.
- Fees. $30 a night for a standard non-electric site, $55 for electric. Access and Senior Pass holders get 50% off standard sites. Cards only.
- How you pay. Scan and Pay in the Recreation.gov app, or in person at the Beaver Meadows or Fall River entrances. Set up the app and your account before you drive in, because the park’s own page warns that cell service is not reliable at its entrance stations.
- Power and water. Electric sites are only in Loops B and C. No site in the park has a water hookup. Running water and restrooms stay on in Loops A, B and C, with vault toilets in B and E. The dump station and the fresh water fill near the ranger station both stay open.
- What is not sold. No firewood and no ice in winter. Estes Park is the nearest place to buy either.
The Recreation.gov listing, also checked October 16, caps Moraine Park at 40 feet, measured as vehicle plus trailer plus hitch. Park staff do not plow or shovel campsites. The park tells you to bring a shovel and dig out your own, and says campground roads get plowed after the main park roads, so expect delays after a storm.
The stay limit we could not pin down
The same page says you can camp 7 nights total parkwide from May 1 through October 15, and an additional 14 nights from November 1 through April 30. It says nothing about October 16 through 31, which is exactly the stretch when the winter season opens. We are not going to guess which limit applies. If you plan more than a few nights in late October, ask at the entrance station or the Moraine Park ranger station. Both published limits are parkwide, not per campground, so count every night you spend in the park, not just the ones at Moraine.
What to do this week
Arrive early in the day. The park publishes no figure for how fast winter sites fill, so do not count on an evening walk-up. If you need power, aim for Loop B or C and check the post before you pay. And read the kiosk when you pull in. A posted notice at the campground beats this page and the park’s website, because winter conditions change faster than either gets updated.
For free options nearby, our Colorado free camping page covers the stay limits on public land outside the park.